Adding new memory

[tk13047]

Hi there, I hope I'm posting in the correct forum.

I've had my PC for about 1.5 years, it came with 4gb ram and I'm thinking of adding more. According to my order summary, it is:

4GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz

I was looking for advice as to how best to do this. Should I replace that ram with new stuff, or buy the same and add to it?

Thank you!

Kevin

 

[steaky360]

Hi, its probably cheaper to buy another 4Gb stick and add it to the PC [for example]. But you might find its cheaper to get 8Gb (either 2x4gb or 1x8gb). Personally I'd go for the cheaper option of the two (whatever that turns out to be).

Its very easy to add/replace RAM

Also, is it an AIO PC you have? Or is it a desktop/laptop (just for forum position ) If its an AIO I couldn't tell you how to insert the RAM but I suspect its reasonably simple.

You could also order the ram from PCS through the upgrade service.

 

[tk13047]

Oh dear yes, i posted in the wrong section - sorry! It's a desktop, not an AIO. I'm fine with actually replacing the ram, just not sure what the best option would be

cheers!

 

[Rakk]

Moved to the desktops section

 

[ubuysa]

I think it matters little in practice. In theory with two 4GB RAM sticks you could be doing dual-channel read and writes (so a 128 bit wide pipeline instead of 64-bit). In memory intensive applications this can be a significant performance boost, but I kinda feel that in ordinary daily use the performance difference is marginal. The two RAM sticks need to be a matched pair for dual-channel to work properly so you'd need to buy a second 4GB RAM stick that was identical to the one you have.

A single 8GB RAM stick won't allow dual-channel operation but will give you 12GB or RAM when used with the existing 4GB card. IMHO either option is just as good, it depends how deep your pockets are more than anything else

 

[tk13047]

I think it matters little in practice. In theory with two 4GB RAM sticks you could be doing dual-channel read and writes (so a 128 bit wide pipeline instead of 64-bit). In memory intensive applications this can be a significant performance boost, but I kinda feel that in ordinary daily use the performance difference is marginal. The two RAM sticks need to be a matched pair for dual-channel to work properly so you'd need to buy a second 4GB RAM stick that was identical to the one you have.

A single 8GB RAM stick won't allow dual-channel operation but will give you 12GB or RAM when used with the existing 4GB card. IMHO either option is just as good, it depends how deep your pockets are more than anything else

Thanks. Kinda lost me a bit hehe, but hey. I basically have one free slot and if I'm correct then to add to what is there, I need identical ram? Otherwise, it's start from scratch?

Money isn't really an issue, but I do feel that there's not a huge point putting the absolute latest and greatest stuff in an old PC. I'm really not even sure what ram costs these days... so actually, I googled that I have and came up with this:

http://www.misco.co.uk/productinfo/...&cagpspn=pla&gclid=CLXFjYnnmb0CFTCWtAodJF4AGA

if that's the same as what I have, then it's pretty cheap stuff and would give me 8gb.

though 12 is a tempting number, or 16. Sigh.

Mostly I play games recreationally and use photoshop professionally.

cheers

 

[steaky360]

8Gb is more than enough for most uses

I'd have thought that was expensive! Have you checked the upgrades section to see how much PCS will charge? Might not be cheaper but it just might be! If the option for another 'single 4Gb' stick is not available they might be able to sort something out for you if you give them a call.

 

[Rakk]

http://www.misco.co.uk/productinfo/...&cagpspn=pla&gclid=CLXFjYnnmb0CFTCWtAodJF4AGA

That memory is SODIMM, which is mainly for notebooks and laptops.
For a desktop I believe you need DIMM modules (SODIMM are smaller)

 

[tk13047]

8Gb is more than enough for most uses

I'd have thought that was expensive! Have you checked the upgrades section to see how much PCS will charge? Might not be cheaper but it just might be! If the option for another 'single 4Gb' stick is not available they might be able to sort something out for you if you give them a call.

yeah I have tried the upgrade thing, unfortunately, when selected the ram field doesn't populate:



but yeah, can give them a call see what they offer.


cheers